Quarantine
by FeralShadowwolf
Summary: When Jack and Sam get quarantined alone in the same room for four and a half hours, what will they do to pass the time? And will repressed emotions rise to the surface? JackSam. Enjoy!
1. Lock Down

**Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters, but if RDA is up for hire, send him my way :P**

Dedicated to Blib: My bestest ever meillure amie, and truest Stargate/ RDA fan there is. For you, Blib.

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"Another day, eh Carter?" Jack smiled at his SG1 team member. They had just returned from their latest mission to planet P3X-249, and Carter had volunteered to return the weapons to the weapons locker to allow everyone to go home for the evening; Jack felt it his male duty to help her, and so they had ended up in the weapons locker together.

"Yep." Sam smiled, putting the last of the guns away. "Well, that's it."

"Good." Jack smiled as he walked to the door. "I can go home, watch McGuyver."

"Night, sir." Sam said, just as a blaring siren deafened the base and red lights blinded them in the power-outage. The emergency back-up lights illuminated the room. Sam gave Jack a worried glance as he opened the door to be confronted by armed troops running along the corridor in formation, wearing oxygen masks and airproof suits.

"Soldier," Jack called one of them over and the closer troop jogged over to them. "What's happening?"

"The building's been compromised, sir, we're issuing a base-wide quarantine. You and Major Carter will have to stay in there until the threat has been neutralized."

"Who's in charge?" Colonel O'Neill ordered.

"General Hammond, sir. I'm sorry, but I have to close this door, you may have already been contaminated." The young soldier said, closing the door and leaving them alone to the sound of thumping feet pounding the corridor.

"Looks like it's just you and me." Jack said, feeling uncomfortable.

"Yep." Sam agreed, folding her arms. Both Jack and Sam averted their eyes, silenced by the awkwardness of the situation.

They sat on opposite benches, glancing nervously at each other. It was no secret how they felt about each other; it came up on numerous occasions in situations much like this, which was making Sam nervous. Being with Colonel O'Neill has hard enough without having to be alone with him. Despite the fact that he came off as a goofball sometimes, she didn't care because she knew what he was really like. She knew that behind his childish façade, Jack was a really incredible man who took his job very seriously, despite his light-heartedness; he was surprisingly resourceful, and a lot smarter than he pretended to be. Moreover, he had more courage than she'd ever seen in anyone, and he was the trustworthiest person she'd ever met. And yet, despite all of his wonderful qualities that made him almost too good to be true, she was betrayed by the knowledge that she could never have him that way. All of this combined made it enough for her to be allowed to feel awkward when they were alone together for too long a time.

"So, Carter, read any good books lately?" Jack asked, half-heartedly attempting small talk.

Sam smirked at his attempt. "Um, no, sir, I haven't." She paused, waiting to see if the uncomfortable silence would return; it did. "Have you?"

"Well, there was the TV guide. Riveting stuff." He said dryly, Sam smiled at his weak joke. It was strange, she saw him everyday, and yet, whenever they were alone together, they were both aware that repressed emotions may well rise to the surface, something neither of them could afford at the price of their occupation.

"Is it just me, or is this… weirdly awkward?" Jack observed, probably knowing that by bringing it up the situation couldn't possibly improve.

"A little, sir." Sam admitted, clearing her throat.

"Carter, just while we're in here, let's put 'sir' on hiatus. Just call me Jack." He sighed, leaning his head on the locker behind him.

"Ok, Jack." She nodded, his name feeling foreign on her tongue. Technically, as they were still on duty, he was bending the rules, something she knew he wouldn't do for anyone else. "So how long do you think this will last?"

"I don't know." He sighed, looking at the door. "Hopefully not too long, I'm missing my TV."

"I'm sure they'll be reruns of McGuyver, sir." Sam smiled, embarrassed for him.

"Jack." He corrected her. "What can I say? The guy's resourceful."

Sam half-smiled. "I don't really have anything waiting for me at home. I don't really have time for hobbies."

"That's because you work too hard, Carter. You need to relax, take some time off." Jack suggested. "Next time I go fishing, you're coming with me."

"I don't know…" Sam said uncertainly.

"Don't make me pull rank on you, Carter." Jack smiled, only half-serious.

"Wouldn't be the most professional reason to pull rank." Sam commented, feeling herself relax around him. "Besides, you don't need to do that. I guess I could give fishing with you a go." She smiled.

"Ok, great. Next weekend it is." Jack decided, clapping his hands together resolutely.

In the corner of the room, a red phone rang; standard issue in any important room on the base. Surprised, Jack answered the phone, "Hello?"

Sam played with her cuticles as Jack spoke on the phone, hearing enough to know that he was speaking to General Hammond who had been told they were in there. It suddenly hit her that she'd just agreed on go on a date with her boss… though could fishing constitute as a date? She doubted it, and relaxed and chose to believe that it was nothing more than getting together with a friend.

"And how long would that be?" Jack asked, an irritated tone in his voice, which Sam easily recognized. "Ok, yes sir." Jack hung up the phone and turned back to Sam. "So, it looks like we might be in here a while."

"How long?" Sam groaned.

"About a half hour." Jack said, then waited for Sam's mood to brighten before adding, "Plus about four _whole_ hours."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Great."

"Yep." Jack agreed, slumping down beside her on the bench.

"What do we do now?" Sam looked to Jack for the answer, and couldn't help but notice how close he sat to her.

"Got any food?" He asked, baring a lop-sided grin.

She laughed. "Not on me."

"Shame." He smiled, mockingly disappointed.

"Well, we better find a way of passing the time or we'll be bored to death before anyone comes to get us." Sam pointed out. For all Jack's wiseass remarks, he knew when Carter was right and now was one of those times. They retreated into silence, thinking intently on how they could pass four and a half hours in each other's company, without…


	2. Four Hours Remaining

**Thank you so much for the reviews, I love you all. Hope you enjoy this chapter even more than the last :P  
****Feral x**

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An hour had passed, and small talk had filled the void of silence upto the point where both realized that had they been only friends and nothing else, there wouldn't be the obvious discomfort which filled the room.

Suddenly, Jack perked up, as if a bulb had alighted above his head. "I've got it! The perfect game to pass the time."

"A game?" Sam replied skeptically.

"Yep. We have to sit on the floor opposite each other." He told her as he slid off the bench to the floor, Carter slowly joining him. "Give me your hands." She did as she was told. "Ok, put them out, palms facing down. I have my open hands beneath yours and the idea is that you have to pull your hands away before I can slap the top of them." Jack explained.

Sam bit her lip to stop her from laughing. "This is your brilliant idea?"

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it." Jack defended. "Besides, hand-slapping is a valuable technique to master." He said, all his concentration poured into slapping the top of her hands, which he achieved; he smiled. "Too slow."

Sam decided to join in, smiling playfully. "Ok, my go." They swapped hand positions. "So you play this a lot to pass the time?"

"Oh yeah, Teal'c and I did it for a whole day during that day repetitive… thing…" He expressed inarticulately, though Sam just found his faltering sentences amusing. Carter attempted to slap his hands unsuccessfully, hiding a smile. "No, my kid and I used to play this all the time. He thought it was so funny." His faded smile told Sam he was thinking nostalgically of Charlie, his little boy who had died as a result of an accident with one of Jack's guns. She knew he blamed himself and she also knew there was nothing anyone could say which could lift that blame, so she wouldn't try.

"I bet he played a lot of games with you." Sam stated. "And I bet Charlie beat you at every one of them."

She slapped the top of his hands, and he smiled. "Yeah, he did."

To feel so comfortable with another person, to be able to talk to Sam about Charlie was so rejuvenating for him. Some people would give their condolences, others would try to lift the blame he felt, but Sam just talked about Charlie in exactly the right way. He had always been happy talking to her about anything. Knowing that he could never express how he felt about her was hard, especially knowing that she felt the same way, but they had to make the best of it without complaint. But here, behind closed doors where they would, no doubt, be completely alone for a long period of time, it seemed too much of a good opportunity not to take it for granted.

"Carter, for the next four hours, let's pretend we aren't part of the air force." Jack suggested, his glance averted in fear of rejection.

She raised her eyebrows. "Another game, sir?"

"Jack." He corrected her again and accepted her apologetic look. "Not a game, just a thought. I'm not your boss, you're not part of my team, we're just two people, stuck in a weapons locker in a top-secret base." He bared a lop-sided grin, though he was being fully serious. "Sound ok to you, Carter?"

"Alright," She hesitantly accepted. "But if we were truly to commit to the part, you would call me Sam, not Carter."

"I can do that, Sam." He nodded, saying her name slowly as he had said it so infrequently before.

"So, _Jack_," She smiled, knowing this couldn't possibly last. "What's on your mind?"

"Same ol', same ol'." He answered, his concentration returned to her hands.

"So, nothing?" She teased and he gave her a playful hard look.

"You know me, nothing much up there anyway." He smiled; his childish ignorance all part of his charm to her, unbeknownst to Jack. "Why Cart-, Sam?" He corrected himself. "What's on yours?"

She stayed quiet for a minute, realizing her answer would be inappropriate no matter what reality they pretended to live in. "I think I need a vacation."

"And miss all the fun of paperwork, life-risking missions and…" He looked around him. "Quarantines? Who needs a holiday when this is your life?" Jack asked sarcastically.

Sam smiled. "As fun as all that is, I know that all work and no play makes Sam a very dull girl."

"We're playing now." Jack pointed out.

"True." Sam had to agree, if her pink hands were any proof.

"And Sam, for the record, you're never dull, never could be." Jack smiled sincerely. For a moment their eyes locked, neither moved, though eventually they smiled nervously and continued their game, now completely unfocused on it.


	3. Three Hours Remaining

"I can't choose that!" Sam laughed, the pain in the sides meant she had to stop laughing, but at this point, it wasn't possible. She and Jack had been exchanging stories for ages, until he had suggested 'Truth or Dare', the most immature game of them all.

"Oh come on, who would be a better bowler? Teal'c or Daniel? I say Teal'c, he'd pinpoint the exact location for maximum effectiveness." Jack argued, still laughing himself. Sam's smile was worth it all anyway, every time he saw her smile he couldn't help but stop and notice how beautiful she looked.

"You're forgetting General Hammond." Sam added. "He could have a bowling past none of us know about."

"Sure, it's an SGC club. All the generals go bowling every second Sunday of the month, there's free beer and they all have personalized shirts." Jack imagined, Sam was almost falling down in hysterics.

Sam took a deep breath and sat up, resting her hand on her stomach. "How did we even get here?"

"Took a left in the corridor." Jack mocked seriousness. Sam let out a short laugh. "I dunno." He sighed, perhaps out of contentment, he wasn't sure. What he was certain about though, was that he hadn't laughed so hard in ages.

"Never a boring moment with Jack O'Neill." Sam smiled, resting her head on the locker behind as he gazed at her.

"Oh no." He agreed half-heartedly. He glanced at his watch. "It's getting late, almost 9:30pm, we would have been home ages ago if it weren't for this quarantine."

"My bed sure would have been comfier than this floor." Sam commented.

"I bet it would have." Jack smiled, causing Sam to blush. "We should be off duty more often."

"We should." Sam nodded, inwardly sighing because she knew the futility of wishing such things.

"Kinda sucks being us sometimes, doesn't it?" Jack said, Sam instantly recognizing that he was addressing their relationship, or rather, the lack thereof. Both felt as let down as the other by their rules, codes and ethics of relationships between officers. The fact that Sam knew how he felt about her, and vice versa, should have made it more uncomfortable between them, but the fact that they were in the same situation dispelled any awkwardness there may have been, and instead, it was oddly reassuring.

"You said it." Sam agreed, smiling dejectedly. They wouldn't go into it again, it just raised hopes continually disappointed. They wouldn't sacrifice their jobs, so they couldn't be together; it was a painful truth, but a truth nonetheless.

"In the spirit of having no rank at the moment, I'll tell you, I kissed you once." Jack admitted, sharing a boyish grin at the though of her lips on his.

Sam smiled, thinking it perhaps a joke, but then saw he was being serious. "No, you haven't. I would have remembered it."

He played with his hands. "You remember when Teal'c and I went round and round in a time loop?" He waited for the confirmation, edging him onwards. "On one of the days, I handed General Hammond my resignation and took you in my arms in all it's clichéd glory, and kissed you, just as time reversed." He smiled.

"That's why you were looking at me so weirdly in the Briefing Room that morning." She pieced together; the thought of Jack kissing her and she'd missed it, disappointing.

"Yep." He admitted. A few moments of silence passed. "You were a great kiss by the way."

"Thanks," She scoffed. "Wish I could say the same, but I don't remember it."

"Sam, if things were different, if one or both of us hadn't joined the air force, do you think we would of…" Jack led off, Sam completely understanding where he was coming from.

"I know I would have wanted to." She confessed. "But I've had this conversation in my head before, and we both know…"

"I know." He stopped her gently, seeing that she was about to get a little worked up. "I know."

They shared eye-contact, each understanding exactly how the other felt, the pain and frustration of not being allowed to do what they wanted for so long, of not being allowed to say what the other already knew.


	4. Two Hours Remaining

**short but sweet xx (more to come)**

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"Um… the most interesting date?" Jack asked, continuing their game of… technically there wasn't a name, they'd just started asking each other personal questions and it hadn't stopped, possibly for no other reason that this was a perfect opportunity.

"Um, John Wallowby," Sam recalled, laughing to herself. "He took me to dinner and talked for literally two hours non-stop, drank continuously, and then when he dropped me off, he threw up on my doorstep." Sam replied, feeling nauseous just thinking about it.

"Gross." Jack grimaced, pulling a repulsed face.

"Yep, didn't exactly win _him_ another date." Sam laughed. "Ok, the most… terrifying thing you've ever had to do?"

"Well, listening to your story could go on that list." Jack joked and then shrugged in response to her question. "I don't know, I guess I can't really think of anything."

"Seriously?" Sam was taken aback. "After the Ga'ould, Anubis and everything else, you weren't ever scared in the least? I find that hard to believe."

"I admit, I was _slightly_ scared by those situations," Jack smiled, "But you asked me what the most terrifying thing I ever had to _do_ was, and I haven't really done anything that has made me that terrified." Jack explained.

"Wow." Sam exclaimed. "You should do something then, something spontaneous, take a chance." She suggested, her eyes aglow with possibilities.

"Like what?" Jack asked, not sharing her enthusiasm.

"I don't know… climb Everest." She randomly suggested.

He winced. "Too much effort. Besides I wouldn't be scared to do that, so much as… not really bothered."

"Fair enough, it was just a thought." She smiled at his skeptical look. "What the scariest thing you _would_ do, then? What's the one thing you've maybe thought of doing, but –" Sam was cut off by Jack, who was – for all intense of purposes – still her boss, leaning forward and impulsively kissing her. His soft lips brushed past hers, just long enough for her to come out of it dazed. "What, er," She pulled back, and smiled nervously, keeping her eyes closed. "Where did that come from?"

"You said to do the scariest thing I could think of, that was it." Jack smiled, still in closer proximity than was generally required for air force officers.

"Right." She laughed uneasily. "But strictly speaking…"

"Remember Sam, we're just two people in a weapons locker. There is no rank here." Jack reminded her, really wanting to kiss her again.

"But there is out there." She sighed and looked to the door. "And we only have a few hours before… I just think it would be smarter if we were practical about this." She regretted her words as she said them, but she knew it was the truth.

Slowly, Jack leant into her again and without resistance, he gently pulled her toward him, kissing her once more and making sure it lasted longer than the last. They gradually parted, and he whispered, "I'm not usually one for doing the smart thing."

She smiled. "That's true." They shared their smiles and meaningful eye-contact for a moment, as if to say 'if only'; Jack couldn't help but notice how Sam's eyes sparkled, and Sam took satisfaction from his boyish grin. Almost confidently, Sam initiated their next kiss, rewarding herself for doing something she had wanted to for so long. He moved so purposefully, as if they'd done this before, but she knew – time-loop or no – she knew she would have remembered this, and it was definitely new to her; new and exciting.


	5. One Hour Remaining

For a while, they'd happily fooled around, not daring to take it any further behind an unlocked door. Instead, they lay on the floor, Sam in Jack's arms, her head resting on his chest. Every now and then, they glanced at each other, unable to keep from smiling as if they were teenagers.

"We should do that more often." Jack commented, only half-joking.

"Yep." Sam smiled. "Though I don't think General Hammond would approve."

"Oh don't worry about him, I've made it perfectly clear that I only see him as a friend, and I _think_ he accepted it." He joked; Sam smiled and hit him playfully on his chest. He smiled, "I have an idea."

"Oh?" Sam's head perked up.

"When we're both retired, or possibly fired, we get together and go on a real live date." Jack suggested, stroking her hair.

"When we're retired?" Sam smiled disappointedly, contemplating how long exactly that would take.

"Couldn't wait that long?" Jack flashed his boyish grin, though shared her feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction.

"I guess we're gonna have to." Sam's smile faded; she sighed. "This isn't fair."

"I know." He kissed the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her hair which drove him crazy.

In a sudden twist of conversation, Sam pulled herself up to face Jack and said, "You know what the weirdest thing I've ever seen is?" She didn't wait for an answer. "When that parallel me came through and I saw you kiss her… me…us." She tried to work through.

"We, er, we were actually married in that reality." He explained. "And she'd only just lost her husband to the Ga'ould."

"Wow." Sam breathed. "That's…"

"Weird?" Jack offered and nodded his head after Sam. "I thought so too."

A few moments of comfortable silence passed as she rested her head back on his warm body. "You know, when we leave this room, we're going to have to pretend this never happened." Sam sighed.

"Yeah." Jack was unwillingly tugged back into reality. "But there's always fishing next weekend." He smiled suggestively.

She stayed silent for a moment. "Jack, as much as I want…" She bit her lip, searching for the words. "We can't have a secret relationship, it wouldn't…" She hated herself for saying it.

"I wouldn't tell anyone." He smiled hopefully, though he knew she was right. "I know you're right. No matter if we're on a mission or fishing, we're still Air Force officers and I'm still your boss."

"Yep." She replied dejectedly.

"Man, I wish I'd joined the Navy." He commented, raising a smile out of the beautiful woman in his embrace.

Sam looked at her watch. "We've got about 40 minutes left." She pulled herself up, facing and leaning on him, sighing at the serenity and perfection of the moment.

"Then we should make it count." Jack flashed his boyish grin before flipping her over to his other side, her legs draped over his, catching Sam by surprise as he kissed her once more. They had become so familiar in each other's hold, it seemed as if all the world went away. There was no Stargate, no Air Force, just two people who cared deeply about each other, surrendering completely to the moment.


	6. We'll Always Have the Weapons Locker

Sam and Jack had been forced to pull themselves away from each other because of the time. They sat on opposite benches, just as they had done all those hours ago, staring at each other and smiling satisfyingly, Sam tending to blush every now and then.

"Now I kinda wish we _were_ contaminated." Jack smiled. "We'd be stuck in here for days, maybe even weeks." He said 'days' and 'weeks' slowly, as if imagining what they could do in that time.

"We'd be watched like hawks, monitored." Sam rationalized. "Somehow, I don't think we could get away with that again."

"I dunno…" He smiled suggestively.

"Jack." She warned, not wanting to go into it again.

"It's ok, Sam, I know." He averted his eyes for a moment before looking back at her. "I just want you to know –"

She nodded. "I do know."

"I just want to say it." Jack smiled self-consciously. "We both know how we feel about each other, but every time we try to say it, we're stopped prematurely." He pointed out. She smiled understandingly and he took a short breath. "I care about you, much more than I'm supposed to, and sometimes, just being with you, even on a mission is enough to…" He smiled, more out of embarrassment than anything else. "We've been through a lot Sam, and that probably won't change. But, if I never get the chance to say this to you again, I want you to know, I think I'm in –"

"Colonel." A soldier burst through the door. He nodded to Sam. "Major. The contamination has been neutralized."

"Are we infected?" Jack asked, Sam eyes averted slowly to the soldier, having not quite recovered from what she thought Jack was just about to say.

"No, sir. The contamination never got this far." He reported. "General Hammond wants to see you and Major Carter in the Briefing Room."

Jack nodded as the soldier left them alone again. He looked remorsefully at her, once again, another moment lost. She looked at him longingly, their secret liaisons in that room, which were never to be spoken of again pained her. She wanted to hear what he was going to say, she wanted to tell him the same, but sadly, she realized that could never be.

Sam blinked and regained her stature, knowing they had to step back into the real world. "We should be going, sir."

He nodded sorrowfully. He opened the door for her, "After you, Major Carter."

She stepped through the door to be followed by Colonel O'Neill as they walked in silence to the Briefing Room.

**THE END**

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